Islamist threat remains strong in UK, say experts

Islamist extremism still remains a dominant terror threat in the UK, said counter-terrorism experts.

The attack on London Bridge shows that the Islamic State's "appetite for terror attacks in the UK is greater now than it's ever been," Charlie Winter, a senior research fellow at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence at King's College London, was quoted as saying by the Guardian.

Although far right is the fastest growing threat, Islamist extremism remains the dominant form, authorities said.

The London Bridge attack, which killed two, was the first fatal Islamist terror incident in the past two years. Usman Khan, a 28-year-old, was shot dead by police after he launched a terrifying rampage in the heart of the capital.

“As far as I’m concerned, the threat didn’t go away – if anything, having been defeated in Baghouz [in Syria] earlier this year, the Islamic State’s appetite for terror attacks in the UK is greater now than it’s ever been.

“That said, there’s a gulf between appetite and capability, and, besides seemingly isolated incidents like [London Bridge], whether or not the group is able to sustainably and effectively push would-be attackers over the edge remains to be seen.”

Milo Comerford, Islamist extremism lead at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD), an organisation countering extremism across the ideological spectrum, told the Guardian: “The London Bridge attack shows we’re not over the hill with Islamist extremism and points to a new phase of the challenge we’re facing.

“There is a growing far-right threat and that needs to be seen in context. That, and the defeat of Isis, shouldn’t mean we should take our eye off the ball on Islamist extremism.”

Raffaello Pantucci, senior associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), echoed similar sentiments and said the absence of fatal attacks in the last two years does not indicate a lessening of the threat.

“The absence of reporting around a terrorist group, or discussion around it, doesn’t mean the threat has gone away, it means the security forces are managing it in a more effective way,” he said.